Day 2 - Day 4

Day 2

In the US Antarctic Program (USAP), everyone that comes down is issued clothing. This consists of a variety of fleece, thermal, wind, and insulated baselayers, underlayers, jackets, coveralls, gloves, and boots. I think the point is that you have at least one set of Extreme Clothing Wear (ECW) - in case you get stuck outside during a major storm or want/need them while working in the cold. People often wear their own technical gear, but most seem to wear a combination of their own gear and the issued clothing. I have heard that later in the summer it'll warm up and you can wear shorts when heading to the gym. Other issued clothing and gear is work clothing that is usually pretty heavy duty, may be insulated, and can be particular to the job you are doing on the ice. These items are loaned to you for the duration of your stay and then are returned.

Some of the general gear that I have is:

Insulated Carhartt Parka

Insulated Carhartt Jacket and Coveralls

Wind Jacket (Shell)

Balaclava

Leather Gloves

Ski Gloves

Glove Liners

Wool Socks

Blue FDX Boots

Observation on the People - a lot of facial hair on the guys (beards, 'staches) and long hair. Ha - one way that I'll fit in (at least with the long hair, not so much the facial hair). Because everyone is issued the same type of gear, it makes it a lot harder to determine who is who, especially outside. Even when people wear their own things, its always some technical patagonia, north face, and/or mountain hardwear gear that doesn't really help with distinguishing anybody. Ratio is probably 3:1 - guys to girls, there are a large range of ages from one kid I met that is 19 (although most are older) to people that are easily in their 50s. At the peak, there is approximately ~1100 people at McMurdo Station with ~75% of them support staff and the rest researchers.

Day 4

Some of the activities that I've done on station so far (besides work)- is gone to "Gerbil Gym" (treadmills, stationary bikes, etc.), weight room (free weights and machines), and the climbing wall, and participated in pick-up basketball and a yoga class. There seems to be quite a lot of activities going on, but there is also a lot of free time b/c you don't have to spend much time cooking or cleaning and there are limited places to travel to. Just found out today too that you can check out up to two dvd movies from the store for free to watch on your computer.



But, actually the best activity so far was a hike that I did tonite around midnight with a couple of fellas I met up to what I believe is Observation Point. It was a 25 minute hike from my dorm and had a beautiful lookout over McMurdo Station, the New Zealand (Kiwi) Station (also called Scotts Base), Mount Erebus (an active volcano), and the mountain ranges to the Southwest. The cross in the picture is the memorial cross constructed of Australian jarrah, dedicated to Robert Cross and his polar party.